Portfolio

Money market mutual fund assets continued its steady decline the week ended Feb. 20.

Mutual funds overall continued to enjoy flows the week ended Feb. 20, reported Jeff Tjornehoj of Lipper.

Vanguard has made five key investment management appointments as part of what it says is its long-standing practice of periodically rotating members of its investment management teams to broaden their experience and provide them with new responsibilities.

After the municipal market struggled to get through a heavy new-issue calendar last week, another slate of sizable new deals will test the market this week, anchored by a $1.3 billion California higher education deal.

Clients who hold valuable land may receive generous tax breaks in return for a conservation easement, but the IRS has made an effort to keep the tax breaks from becoming too generous.

Vanguard has made five key investment management appointments as part of what it says is its long-standing practice of periodically rotating members of its investment management teams to broaden their experience and provide them with new responsibilities.

Although rising interest rates may challenge those bond investments with the highest sensitivity to interest rates, many parts of global fixed-income markets can provide reduced interest-rate risk and even be used to seek potentially strong performance in a rising interest-rate environment.

Guggenheim Investments is liquidating nine exchange-traded funds to make room for other "products that have demonstrated the most marketplace demand."

The Year of the Snake began on February 10. According to Chinese folklore, this year will be known for steady progress and attention to detail.

Equity and bond mutual funds alike started off the new year with a bang, bringing in $86 billion in fresh assets. This combined with $29 billion flowing into exchange-traded funds was by far the largest one-month gain on record for mutual funds, according to Morningstar.